Part of the Global Plot to Expose Moonbats, conspiracy nuts, and anti-Semites, especially the Jewish anti-Semitic variety.
The leftwing Neo-Nazi web magazine Counterpunch has described Plaut thus: "One of the most pernicious writers is Steven Plaut, a man who could be thought of as Israel's Daniel Pipes."

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Israel's Socialist Dreams vs. Capitalist Realities

1. Send Israel's tenured leftists to Rikers Island!!

The Knesset is issuing a "boycott the boycotters" call, directed against the BDS terrorists who boycott Israel.

Israel's Socialist Dreams vs. Capitalist Realities

Israel truly is the startup nation. There are more startups in Israel than in Western Europe, and the number of Israeli patents is among the largest for any country in the world. Shares of numerous Israeli companies trade on the NASDAQ stock exchange while acquisitions of Israeli high-tech companies by foreign investors inject many billions of dollars into the country every year.

A colorful legend holds that when God offered the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, they were reluctant to accept it. God then lifted the mountain over their heads in a threatening manner, mak-ing them an offer they could not refuse. They reconsidered.

The saga of economic liberalism, some-times dubbed "neoliberal-ism," and Israeli economic growth bears some similarities to that legend. Modern Israel has developed into something of an economic miracle, largely as a result of economic liberalization, driven by entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, and the accumulation of human capital. Yet Israelis have never been entirely comfortable with economic liberalism and indeed are by and large hostile to it.[1]Like their wandering ancestors, they have benefitted in spite of their disinclinations.

The Reluctant "Start-Up Nation"

Israelis may be the most entrepreneurial population on the planet;[2]their capabilities in innovation being, for example, the essential message ofStart-Up Nation,[3]theNew York Timesbusiness bestseller. There are supposed to be more startups in Israel than in Western Europe, not per capita, but in absolute numbers.[4]With a population of eight million people, Israel has over 6,000 startups. In the 2015 Bloomberg Innovation Index, Israel was ranked ahead of the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.[5]The number of Israeli patents is among the largest for any country in the world[6]while shares of numerous Israeli companies trade on the American NASDAQ stock exchange as well as other exchanges. Acquisitions of Israeli high-tech companies by foreign investors inject many billions of dollars into the country every year. Among the reasons for the country's success are its well-educated labor force, a high household savings rate, high levels of imported capital, a strong immigration rate (which includes many highly-educated people), and especially—in recent years—an extremely creative high-tech sector, which so far operates largely outside the realm of government regulation.

This economic good news is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that Israel began its existence in the late 1940s as an impoverished third-world country, whose economy might have been discussed in the same breath as that of India or Egypt. Today, Israel has a gross domestic product per capita comparable to that of the middle-income countries of Western Europe, roughly the same as Italy's. Israel was one of the only countries in the world whose economy did not contract during the global financial crisis that began in 2007. Its rates of inflation and unemployment have been better than those of the United States and Western Europe in recent years. The economy has shown its resilience in the face of numerous challenges and shocks, including chronic terrorism, frequent military conflict, a huge defense burden, a dearth of physical natural resources, and the need to integrate people arriving from scores of different countries and cultures.

Ironically, this dramatic transition from low-development status to today's very high level took place largely despite economic policies that were, in many cases, designed to prevent growth and efficiency. Economic policy has been liberalized slowly over time, but this occurred by and large in the face of governmental reluctance.[7]In some cases, especially regarding the reduction of import protectionism, this was forced upon the government as part of multinational trade agreements.[8]

Israeli economic policy has almost always stifled competition; protected inefficient sectors; allocated resources based on political negotiation, lobbying, and political power; and suppressed market forces in large swaths of the economy. This "reign of pork"[9]— has included the maintenance of an enormous bloated public sector, a long series of bailouts for failed enterprises, high tax rates, and a gargantuan budget.